The University is now part of the UK-Jiangsu 20+20 Alliance which unites leading universities in Jiangsu province and the UK

The University of Plymouth is joining some of the top higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK to forge new and stronger links with China.

Plymouth has been accepted into the UK-Jiangsu 20+20 Alliance, a group that unites the leading universities in the country’s Jiangsu province in a research and education collaboration with British HEIs.

The alliance places Plymouth alongside the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Liverpool and others, with membership promising new opportunities for funding, and staff and student exchange.

The University will contribute its expertise in interdisciplinary working and a focus on technology and creativity, while extending the UK side of the alliance into the South West of England.

In line with the
alliance’s three key research focuses of environmental engineering, advanced
manufacturing and healthcare, Plymouth will bring strong expertise in marine
engineering, digital fabrication and construction, e-health and soft and
adaptive robotics.

The announcement
is the culmination of efforts stretching back to 2003 to develop ever closer
partnerships in Jiangsu province and elsewhere. As a result, the University now
has close ties with Nanjing University of the Arts, Jiangnan University and
Soochow University, and is developing a new partnership with China University
of Mining and Technology. Articulation agreements, where consideration is given
to qualifications from partner institutions, also exist with three other
Chinese universities.

These
relationships have seen joint undergraduate degree programmes in Game Design
and Jiangnan respectively, and the recently launched CODEX
PhD network, in which students carry out research and receive
tuition during periods based in both China and Plymouth.

The invitation to
join the alliance is in recognition of this work, and will give the University
access to new sources of funding for research, special projects and exchange,
from sources such as the British Council, the China Scholarship Council and the
Newton Fund.

“Our invitation to join the
alliance recognises our previous pioneering work in transnational education
projects, many of which already involve close partnership working with members
of the group in Jiangsu. This announcement formalises our position as a key UK
partner for some of China’s top Universities.”

Dr Corino said:

“Membership of the alliance not only brings
huge benefits to our staff and research students, it also promises to boost
postgraduate programmes and research collaboration as our international reputation
grows. We can now explore further collaborations to share the expertise we have
in Plymouth with new partners in Jiangsu and in UK.”

Faculty of Arts and Humanities

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